PARKER COUNTY, Texas (CBS News Texas) – A Parker County business is renting out goats – not for fun, but for hard work. The goat herd clears land and helps prevent wildfires while clearing properties of invasive species like poison ivy.

Nathan Alford, owner of Parker County Goat Rental, rents his herd of 1,200 goats for clearing projects of any size.

“If you ever need some land clearing, are environmentally friendly and don’t mind hearing a ‘no’ or ‘baa’ or a dog barking every now and then, this is a pretty easy way to clear some land,” Alford said.

At each location, the goats have only one task: they must eat as much of the plants and vegetation as they can tolerate.

Alford jokes that the goats are some of his best employees, having owned and operated several businesses.

“They never call in sick to work. They work Thanksgiving and Christmas Day and don’t ask for a raise,” Alford said.

Recently, 65 goats were hired from Parker County Goat Rental to clear an overgrown piece of land that photographer Dixie Dixon plans to use for future photo shoots.

“Basically we’re going to put a pond down here so that when (clients) have music videos and filming and things like that, they can shoot around the pond,” Dixon said.

Dixon is a Nikon ambassador who photographs for Western brands and clients who are often looking for unique locations for filming or photo shoots.

“We had the whole property, but it was so overgrown with brush and things like that,” Dixon said. “And I thought, ‘How can we clear all the land without destroying the cool beauty of the property?'”

So she hired the goats to clear the dense brush, break up the area, and even help prevent wildfires and invasive species like poison ivy and poison oak.

“That’s the beauty of it,” Dixon said. “The goats just eat it up. They’re not allergic to it or anything. So they’ll clean it all up, and then we can put some trails along the property.”

“The goats (also) eat the seeds,” Alford said. “So it also helps with weed control and weed propagation, whereas with conventional mowing you’re just spreading seeds.”

The goats’ droppings also serve a purpose.

The herd is currently leased to 12 different construction sites, where Alford and his team are preparing the areas for the goats by putting up temporary fencing and signage to ensure the goats’ safety.

In each group of goats, there are always at least two Pyrenean Mountain Dogs working together, who are friendly towards people but not towards coyotes, the goats’ biggest predators.

“(The dogs) do a great job of protecting the goats,” Alford said. “And you can tell when something is around. They’ll make sure they scare it away or get it, either one or the other.”

This allows the goats to eat without worry while the property is being redesigned.

“We were really blown away by the process and it was a great adventure to watch the goats at work,” said Dixon.

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